It’s a beautiful fall Sunday morning…by that I mean as “fall” as you can get in late September in Alabama. I am sitting in an old chair outside the cattle lot at Robbie & Beverly’s house, listening to all the sounds around me…birds, a train nearby, cows (of course), and family members leaving for church. This morning, this is my church. We have a mama cow that has given birth to a beautiful bull calf, and I have the easy task of just sitting back and watching to make sure all continues to go well. You see, this cow and calf have given us several scares and sleepless nights. She didn’t go in to labor when she should have and the vet induced her…then labor didn’t progress and she had to have assistance giving birth. Then we had to make sure that she accepted the calf and allowed it to drink milk. Just when we thought we had it all under control, the calf slipped down in to a small ditch this morning. It was all hands-on-deck trying to get the calf out of the ditch and keeping the mama cow from running us over as we rescued the calf to put him and the mama cow back in to the lot. Robbie, Keith, and Milton are baling hay as I sit here, hence me having the easy job. Those fellows, along with David, have worked tirelessly the past week to care for these cows AND cut hay. These are the times that it truly breaks my heart to see people spending so much time and energy trying to make people believe that farmers are cruel people…people that are just trying to make a dollar and do not care about their animals. This MIGHT be true of very few, but the vast majority of farmers love and care for their animals. As farmers, we have been given these animals to care for as a gift from our Heavenly Father, and we do not take our responsibility lightly. Psalms 50:10-11 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.” The animals all belong to Him and we are thankful that He gives us the opportunity to care for some of them. We work long hours and lose many nights of sleep making sure that these animals have what they need. We miss church, school functions, football & baseball games, time with other family, and David and Milton are missing out on retirement. This isn’t just a job to us…it is a passion and a calling. Luke 12:48 “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” On our farm, we are thankful that God has entrusted us with the huge responsibility of caring for His animals…even when we are tired and overwhelmed, we are still thankful. Thankful to be a small part of the small part…3% of the population that are farming to feed the other 97%. God chose us to be a small part of it, and like the majority of the people in the farming industry, we put a lot of time, sweat, and heart in to all that we do. Proverbs 27:23 “Know the state of your flocks and put your heart into caring for your herds”. Around lunch time, Beverly took over watching the calf…hay baling continued into the evening. I finish up this day by continuing to say prayers for the new little bull…having faith that God will keep him and his mama safe and healthy through the night. Our Heavenly Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills and we are thankful that He entrusts us with just a few of them.
